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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

One Person Pizza and Fermented Potato Fries

I have two things today to share.  My lunch today...

A one serving size pizza that I just threw together quick, with my coconut microwave bread in mind for a crust, only without a couple ingredients.  It turned out excellent.  I may use this as a flatbread as well for a wrap.  Haven't tried that yet, but it looks flexible enough that it just may work.  I topped it with bbq shredded chicken that we had last night for supper along with my fermented potato fries
These turned out wonderful!  Yes, they are real potatoes.  They were fermented for a week in kefir whey, salt, and spring water.  Very simple.  The starch is removed.  They are very crispy.  Probably more so than normal fries would be because the starch is removed.  Besides being less carbs, they greatly reduced the bad stuff that causes cancer when you heat potatoes too high.  Here is an excerpt about it from here: http://voices.yahoo.com/the-dangers-eating-french-fries-4557839.html...

Dangers of Eating French Fries: They Contain Acrylamides
Recent research has shown that carbohydrates such as potatoes form acrylamides when heated to high temperatures. Acrylamides have been shown to cause cancer in rats and is believed to do the same in humans. Manufacturers of processed foods are currently working to lower acrylamide levels in common foods such as cookies, breads, potato chips, cereals, and other baked goods - all of which have been shown to contain acrylamides. While you can argue that the acrylamides from a single order of French fry potatoes is unlikely to cause problems; remember how much acrylamide you're already getting from processed foods. Oven baking fries is not significantly better since it also produces acrylamides.

So even though you won't get the probiotics from it after heating them, you do get a much healthier french fry.

I was in a hurry last night so unfortunately I can't tell you what impact they had on my blood sugar.  That will have to wait until the next batch, which is in my freezer.  I made up a whole 5 lb. bag at once and then froze them in separate freezer bags.  So now I just have to grab them out of the freezer and wash off with hot water to thaw, dry very well, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings and bake 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes.  Voila! They are real fries.  So tasty!  I am kicking myself for not checking my bg so I can report the results, but I will make them again soon and report.

Here's what I did.  I used one 5 lb. bag, cut into fries, mixed with 1/2 cup kefir whey, 2 tbsps sea salt, cover with spring water.  I put a plate on it to whey it down so the fries would not pop up out of the water.  I covered it tightly.  (I used a crock pot.)  I let it sit for a week.  They turned out perfect.  When you are ready to use them, rinse them well, and dry in a cotton towel very dry. Freeze them in freezer bags if you don't want to use them right away, or cook them immediately.

Here is my pizza crust recipe.  Very quick and easy.  Probably done by others, who knows?  It's basic.



One Person Pizza Crust                      

1 large  egg, beaten
1 tablespoon  coconut flour
2 tablespoons  fiesta blend shredded cheese
dash  salt
onion powder
garlic powder
italian seasoning
water as needed

Preheat oven to 425 F.  In small bowl or cup, combine egg, coconut flour, shredded cheese and salt.  Sprinkle in onion powder garlic powder and italian seasoning. (I didn't measure I just sprinkled it in, maybe 1/2 tsp.)  Mix all together with a fork and add just enough water to get a thick but spreadable consistency.

Place parchment paper on a one-person serving size pizza pan, or 8-inch square pan.  Spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Drop out dough onto parchment paper.  Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and press all around with fingers until it is spread out evenly.

Bake crust 10 to 15 minutes or until just done but not browned.  Spread toppings of your choice and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted to your liking.

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4 Slices/Per Slice: 36 Calories; 2g Fat (59.8% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 55mg Cholesterol; 37mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fat.


16 comments:

  1. Very interesting regarding the preparation of the fries. You said that they were lower carb. Do you have any idea as to what the count would be? Thanks!

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    1. No, unfortunately I have no way of knowing the carb count. I can only go by the affect it has on my blood sugar. I did this with apples, and there was minimal rise in my blood sugar, so I'm assuming the same for the potatoes. The starch/sugar is used up in the fermenting process, so it will be less carbs but I don't have any way of knowing how much less.

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  2. Hi Ginny, I would like to try these again. I did them before but I don't think I let them ferment long enough and they spiked me, but I would like to try again for longer this time, do you think kefir water would be as good as the whey from milk kefir? I have been having my kefir in the morning and love it but I just make a small amount just for myself but I have been making kefir water and that is very nice also but not sure if it would do the job as well as milk kefir. I would appreciate your view, by the way that piza looks great I am going to have to make that. Thank you, Rona.

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    1. Rona, kefir water is something I've always wanted to try, but never have. I think it may have more sugar in it though, not sure. Not sure if your results would be the same. If you can't get kefir whey though from milk kefir you can get it from yogurt. Same way--just drain it in cheesecloth or cotton towel for 24 hrs. and use the whey that is left. Does the kefir water spike you? I've always been curious about that.

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    2. Thank's Ginny, the kefir water is nice, very refreshing. I made for my DH as he can't have milk so I thought it would be nice for him I don't spike with it I leave it to ferment three days and all the sugar has been eaten up by that time I put some berries in it, it gets a bit of fizz in it which is lovely I also feed it to my houseplants and they are thriving. I would like to thank you as I would never of tried kefir if not for you my tummy loves it and I have spread it to at least half dozen of my family and friends, I can't get raw milk it's not legal here to buy I use organic full fat pasturised and it works fine. Well I think I will be making yogurt at the weekend so we will have some nice cheese from the yogurt. Thank's again. Rona

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    3. Thanks for sharing that Rona! I may just have to try the kefir water! :)

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  3. Hi, I love the idea of using lacto-fermented vegetables and fruit! I'm trying to eat moderately low carb and vegan and I'm always looking for ways to add interesting foods to my diet. I don't have kefir (and if I were to get it it would either have to be water kefir or milk kefir grown in soy milk or something similar). However, I read up on sauerkraut production, which can be done without any starter culture. The cabbage is kept in salt water, and as long as you keep it submerged so no oxygen can get to it, naturally available lacto-bacteria will start to ferment it. Fermentation might take a little longer, since you don't have the 'jump start' from the kefir. I have a glass jar with apple slices submerged in 2% salt water sitting on the counter right now, to see what the effect will be. They are already starting to bubble a little, so they must be fermenting, right?

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    1. Hi Martine. The nice thing about using the kefir whey is that you don't need the salt necessarily. But you can ferment like you said with salt and water. I'm still learning about this myself so I don't know yet about using kefir water but I'm thinking it should work. I think you can get vegetarian starters also to ferment with.

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  4. Ginny, could you use frozen french fries, do you think? Lazy I know, but I work such long hours and I'm so bad about cutting things evenly.

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    1. I know how it is not having time or energy to do those things! I really don't know, unfortunately, because I haven't tried it with them. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try them. I don't see why they wouldn't work actually. I'm by no means an expert in this! I'm just an experimenter! Ha ha.

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  5. Thank you Ginny, you're such a blessing. :)

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  6. Wow - this is fascinating! Do the fries taste different at all because of the fermentation process and the removal of the starch? Also, do you think this would work with sweet potatoes and yams?

    Where did you get the kefir whey (and what is it?) as I have not come across it before?

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    1. Louise, unfortunately, my experiment didn't work for not raising my blood sugar (see here: http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/03/results-of-fermented-fries-experiment.html)
      But someone suggested to first boil the potatoes slightly, which would release the starch, and then ferment. I haven't tried that yet, but maybe some day. It changes the taste of the fries somewhat, but I didn't think they were changed drastically. They are crispier. They have a bit of fermented taste to them, which I found I liked. I think probably it would be the same with sweet potatoes and yams. Again... my experiment did not work as far as making them lower glycemic, but it may work to cook them first. I make my own kefir with kefir grains I bought from someone years ago online. Kefir is a fermented drink, much like yogurt only more of a milk-shake consistency. You make whey by putting the kefir in a cotton cloth and draining over a pitcher for several hours until the whey is removed. I have a video I did on it here:http://ginnyslowcarbkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/03/kefir.html Hope that helps!

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    2. Thanks Ginny. It's a shame about the blood sugar results. I'll try it with boiling the potatoes first, and I'll measure my blood sugar to test it. I'll let you know how it goes.

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    3. Thanks Louise! Yes, I would be interested in hearing how it goes!

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